Hay from a farmer - mix of types - is this good ?

We could get a good amount of this mix of hay for free, as it's what my Dad grows.

His current seeds his fields with this mix :

50% Timothy
20% Alfalfa
15% White Clover
10% Red Clover
5% Trefoil hay

Would this be safe to use as the free-fed hay for a pet rabbit (we do not currently have a rabbit - this is purely research).

you will need to be mindful of the red clover. It's moulds easily.

But if you watch for it, you'll be fine with that mix I think.

I am wondering if it would be too much alfalfa ?

House rabbits are often recommended to eat less pellets than breeding rabbits.. (Pellets tend to be mostly alfalfa.)

With that hay as a basis, I think, you could rather easily put together a low pellet or pellet free diet for your pet. Thus pretty much negating the "too much alfalfa" issue.

NO pellets ?

That's the first I've heard of that being possible for a pet.

There are many forum members who could give better advice than I can, as I've only been feeding my rabbits a truly low pellet diet for a few months.

But I think, a healthy rabbit diet can be composed of
Fresh greens
Note: Less grocery store veggies, more nutrient dense foods like lawn weeds (dandelion, plantains, etc) or trimmings like carrot tops.
A high quality hay that contains some kind of legume. (I feel mixed hays are great for this)
and
A salt and mineral source, since those are added to the pellets, they would be absent in a pellet free diet.

Some might argue it's still too much legume, and others may say it's not enough to maintain weight..

It really depends on the rabbits, IMO, as a Holland Lop buck is likely going to need less than say, a Californian doe.

I also feed oats and black oil sunflower seeds (or pumpkin seeds) as treats or supplements, to help maintain weight or fill out imbalances in my breeding animals.


Everyone with more experience than me in natural feeding, please let me know if I've given any incorrect or misleading info, and please add to this, OK???

Would I be seen as bad if I said I would probably prefer to have my daughter feed her bun a pellet, with hay as free feed, instead of trying to balance out the nutrition with various plants ? I'm not saying that she couldn't do it - but it sounds like a lot for a 10-yr old.

Or maybe it's easier than I am thinking it would be ?

I feed our degus (as they are rodents, I know it's not the same as feeding a rabbit) pellets and they have Oxbow Orchard Grass hay free fed.
I also give them dandelions / herbs / veggies as treats.

The hay mixture you posted will likely be higher in protein than a pet rabbit needs (12% for non breeding adults) so I recommend you choose a pellet with a lower protein as well. For breeding adults, young growing kits and those not feeding pellets it sounds terrific

I also recommend you limit your bunnies pellets and start out feeding 1oz of pellet per pound of rabbit a day.

If there are pellets left in the bowl in the morning or if they look like they are getting fat then cut back even more so they are eating more hay.

If they are still getting chunky then cut out all treats/fruits/veggies

This hay would be being grown for cattle feed - I don't know what the protein content would be.

The pellets we have been looking at have no alfalfa in them (Oxbow is one, Martins Mills is another) - we read that it was best to avoid too much alfalfa due to the calcium content.

This is true for non breeding adult rabbits but not those under 6 months

What is this brands protein content?

This site's recommendations are geared toward pet animals, and not breeding animals, but it still labels quite a few brands as deficient in calcium, including some that contain alfalfa.

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabb ... arison.asp <br /><br /> -- Sat Jun 13, 2015 9:21 pm -- <br /><br />

Would I be seen as bad if I said I would probably prefer to have my daughter feed her bun a pellet, with hay as free feed, instead of trying to balance out the nutrition with various plants ?

Click to expand...

Absolutely not. Rabbit pellets exist for a reason... and that reason is to feed rabbits!

RT has a lot of both natural feeders and those who feed mainly pellets. There are definitely pros and cons to both approaches.

Great info on that chart - but nothing that is highlighted as best is available in Canada.

The pellet I am looking at most for her to use is Martin Mills "Little friends™ TIMOTHY ADULT Rabbit Food"

INGREDIENTS:
Timothy Meal
Soybean Hulls
Wheat Middlings
Soybeans
Barley
Soya Oil (preserved with Rosemary Extract, Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid)
Wheat Germ
Brewers Yeast
Dicalcium Phosphate
Lignin Sulfonate
Salt
Calcium Carbonate
Rice Hulls
DL-Methionine
Mannan OligoSaccharide
Ascorbic Acid (a source of Vitamin C)
Choline Chloride
Iron Sulphate
Yucca Schidigera Extract
Vitamin E
Zinc Oxide
Manganese Sulfate
Niacin
Mineral Oil
Copper Sulphate
Folic Acid
Calcium Pantothenate
Vitamin B12
Vitamin A
Biotin
Selenium
Vitamin K
Riboflavin
Vitamin D3
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
Thiamine Mononitrate
Calcium Iodate
Cobalt Sulphate


GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein (min.)12.5%
Crude Fat (min.) 2.5%
Crude Fibre (min) 20.0%
Crude Fibre (max.) 24.0%
Moisture (max) 10.0%
Sodium (actual) 0.20%
Calcium (actual) 0.6%
Phosphorus (act) 0.5%
Vitamin A (min) 17,250 I.U./kg
Vitamin D3 (min) 2,150 I.U./kg
Vitamin E (min) 54 I.U./kg
Calories per 8oz cup: 221

Sounds perfect for an adult rabbit

And pellets and hay are the safest bet to give your rabbit a balanced diet.

Many of us have over 20 breeding rabbits plus litters of kits and grow outs so feeding pellets can get pricey and we've learned to feed less expensive foods that are often more time consuming to figure out or prepare in safe ratios

Another concern besides price, is that it can also be bit more challenging to find good quality pellets in as great of quantities that some breeders require.

Where I am located, there are only 3 brands consistently available to me.
For reference, I mainly raise rabbits for human and animal consumption, and use around 200 lbs of pellets/month when feeding only pellets and hay.

Of the brands I can choose from:
One brand (the cheap one which I never remember the name of) contains a meat ingredient, unspecified animal fat. (which is not necessarily bad for the rabbits, but I don't even feed unspecified animal fats to my obligate carnivore pets...it's a preference.)
The manna pro has the best ingredient list, but what is available to me has some milling and storage problems that render it occasionally fatal to weanlings. Something I will not tolerate.
The last (Purina) is just plain...fatty, and contains corn and gmo ingredients that I'd rather minimize or avoid altogether.

So with all that in mind, working them toward as natural a diet as possible makes me feel a bit better about what they eat.

It's a lot easier to source a consistent supply of top-notch pellets for just one little bunny. :lol:

Zass":2vhmwxs7 said:

But I think, a healthy rabbit diet can be composed of
Fresh greens
Note: Less grocery store veggies, more nutrient dense foods like lawn weeds (dandelion, plantains, etc) or trimmings like carrot tops.
A high quality hay that contains some kind of legume. (I feel mixed hays are great for this)
and
A salt and mineral source, since those are added to the pellets, they would be absent in a pellet free diet.

Click to expand...

'

Couldn`t agree more, especially in a pet rabbit. Even in breeding rabbits, I like to have meat that is free from eyerthing artificial or made by an industry.

I read herea bout timothy and alfalfa hay, probably we have this in pet stores but I don˙t know any rabbit breeder who would˙t feed just plain "normal" hay (and most of them do´t use pellets). I didn˙t even feed grains for a while but that really slows growth down, so my "kits" were 6 months old, still not the butchering size and stardet fighting like crazy.

What is a legume?

Nika":264m2bgu said:

What is a legume?

Click to expand...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legume

Peas, Beans and peanuts are what *I* most commonly think of as legumes.
But Alfalfa, clover and soybeans are also legumes.

Nika":ikym3oqx said:

What is a legume?

Click to expand...

Things from the nut/seed families... beans, soy, peas, nuts...

Oops sorry, I see the question was answered already.
I should also say that legumes are a source of plant based protein, but not a complete protein on their own. I'm sure the wiki article explains it better.

Dood":223ltkey said:

Sounds perfect for an adult rabbit

And pellets and hay are the safest bet to give your rabbit a balanced diet.

Many of us have over 20 breeding rabbits plus litters of kits and grow outs so feeding pellets can get pricey and we've learned to feed less expensive foods that are often more time consuming to figure out or prepare in safe ratios

Click to expand...

Yeah - we are not looking at that many rabbits !

Just one, maybe two as pets (three at most, as we have three kids - but it's one or two to start for sure!), maybe to take to a local fair or 4H show, and do some 4H Rabbit Hopping
:bunnyhop: <br /><br /> -- Thu Jul 16, 2015 1:20 pm -- <br /><br /> Just spoke with my Dad, and he's going to get us a grain bag full of some nice grass hay for Bug's bunny-to-be.

From field to bag to home, it's going to be much fresher than anything we can buy in a pet store

Would I be seen as bad if I said I would probably prefer to have my daughter feed her bun a pellet, with hay as free feed, instead of trying to balance out the nutrition with various plants ?

How's Mom,
It is my belief that the best and possibly only way to easily achieve
a nutritionally balanced diet for your Rabbit or any Rabbit,
would be by using a good quality Pelleted Rabbit feed
along with Grass-hay for the required long fiber to help keep the hindgut
working properly. All other items fed to rabbits should be considered TREATS,
and only fed occasionally and sparingly with purpose.
As always, JMPO.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

She will be using pellets as daily feed, and free-feeding the hay.

We are not trying to balance out anything with various plants - that breakdown is what the hay that my Dad plants is made up of - it's not just a field of timothy here, one of alfalfa there - it's a mixture on each field.